Saturday, April 7, 2012

Introversion

In "Quiet", Susan Cain states that "At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they are often labeled "quiet," it is to introverts that we owe many of the great contributions to society--from van Gogh’s sunflowers to the invention of the personal computer."I have read that introverts make up as much as 1/2 of the population in the world. However, in our culture introversion is generally associated with the anti-social, the outcast or the one who does not like people.
I like people. I like people a lot. I just do not like "all" people and a lot of them make me feel overwhelmed. I prefer to have a conversation with one person who has a lot of interesting topics to talk about, than to have small talk with several different folks. I prefer to have one meaningful friendship than to be surrounded by acquaintances. 
Welcome to introversion, a world for people who have a lot going on inside.

4 comments:

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

I hear you. This post could have been written by me. I am also an introvert. And I love it. I couldn't live my life any other way. I haven't read the book 'Quiet' yet, but I plan to.

Introverted Art said...

Martha, I know exactly what you mean. When I try and force myself to be an extrovert, I feel miserable. I have learned to respect my need for alone time.

cookievf said...

We are in complete agreement, that solitude is worth more than gold!

Arriving at the beginning, it's so nice to see where it all began! I love your writing style and your creativity and am so glad we found each other :D

- vicki xo

bella said...

I just found your blog yesterday and I think I read through half of it last night. I love it. And you know what? I told my fiance, "this girl is taking the thoughts right out of my head!" ha!

Both he and I are introverts and thanks for the info on "Quiet" We downloaded it last night and I read the first 40 pages in what felt like a minute.